Saudi crown prince to visit U.S. with defense, AI and nuclear energy on agenda In his upcoming visit to the White House, the crown prince is seeking security guarantees and wants access to artificial intelligence technology and progress toward a deal on a civilian nuclear program. RIYADH/WASHINGTON - A visit by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler to the White House for talks on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump aims to deepen decades-old cooperation on oil and security while broadening ties in commerce, technology and potentially even nuclear energy. It will be the first trip by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the U.S. since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which caused a global uproar. U.S. intelligence concluded that the crown prince approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic. The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom's de facto ruler.

President Donald Trump has hosted Qatar's prime minister for a private dinner and met with Bahrain's crown prince at the White House as part of a United States effort to address regional issues, including securing a Gaza ceasefire, and promote diplomatic ties with the Gulf region. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister and a member of the country's ruling family, had a private dinner with Trump on Wednesday evening. Before this meal, Trump met with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office. With little progress to share on the region's most pressing conflicts, including Israel's war on Gaza, Trump was more focused on Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth. Trump has lavished attention on the Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships.

Energy giant Saudi Aramco says its 2021 net profit soared by more than 120 percent due to higher crude oil prices, as global economic growth recovered from a pandemic induced downturn. The announcement came on Sunday hours after Yemen's Houthi rebels – against whom Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition – targeted several locations, including Aramco facilities, in cross-border armed drone attacks. Aramco, Saudi Arabia's cash cow, did not say if the attacks caused any damage. "Aramco's net income increased by 124 percent to $110bn in 2021, compared to $49bn in 2020," the company said in a statement. Aramco achieved a net income of $88.2bn in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic hit global markets, resulting in huge losses for the oil and aviation sectors, among others.

Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive of Uber, has attempted to limit the damage after calling the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi "a mistake" similar to a fatal accident that occurred during tests of his company's self-driving car. Khashoggi, a Saudi national resident in the US, and a severe critic of the Saudi regime who wrote for the Washington Post, was murdered in Istanbul last year after visiting the Saudi Arabian consulate there. His body was dismembered and disposed of. His death has been described by Agnès Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, as a "deliberate, premeditated execution" that warrants further investigation into the responsibility of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The prince is a key US ally close to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and chief adviser.

Masayoshi Son, with a net worth of $21.5bn, is reputed to be Japan's wealthiest person. He is also one of the world's slickest and smartest salesmen. In September 2016, Son met then Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. By the end of the 45-minute meeting, bin Salman, MBS, as he is known, had committed $45bn from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) to Son's Vision Fund. That's nearly half the value of what has become the biggest investment fund the world has ever seen.